Phoenix Coyotes land pair of forwards in Round 2 of NHL draft

ST. PAUL, Minn. - After 50 picks, Alexander Ruuttu was still there for the taking, surprising the Coyotes who expected him to be drafted much earlier.

They selected the lanky center, the son of Coyotes scout Christian Ruuttu, in the second round (51st overall) of the NHL draft Saturday and followed that up five picks later by choosing left wing Lucas Lessio. A total of 211 players were selected in the seven rounds.

Ruuttu, who played in the Finland Junior League last season and had 18 goals, also was surprised. He thought he'd be selected in a later round.

"It feels amazing," he said. "I've been watching the team a long time, since dad started there, and now that I'm a part of the organization, it feels great.

"I wasn't expecting anything when I came here. I just wanted to get drafted and any team would have been

Lessio, at 6-1 and 200 pounds, had a nice season with Oshawa of the OHL with 27 goals and 27 assists in 66 games. He said the Coyotes were one of five teams that expressed interest.

"They said I'm their type of player, a big guy with speed, especially in that Western Conference, they like all those players. I think it's a great fit for me, and I'm going to put in all the work and want to make it as soon as I can, for sure."

Valley player picked

In the seventh and final round, the Coyotes tabbed Scottsdale native Zac Larraza, who played with the USA U-18 team, with their final pick. Larraza will attend the University of Denver next season, but General Manager Don Maloney and scouts think he has the potential to become the first Arizona-trained player to break through to the NHL.

"It's just an incredible feeling," Larraza said. "It's starting to hit more and more every couple of minutes. I can't explain. There's no words to explain what just happened."

Ice chip

The Coyotes traded their final pick, the 201st overall, to Tampa Bay for center Marc-Antoine Pouliot, a first-round draft choice (22nd overall) of Edmonton in 2003.

Note

With one difficult decision, Robyn Regehr made two teams and one important All-Star player happy.

The Calgary Flames dealt the veteran defenseman to the Buffalo Sabres after he waived his no-trade clause, clearing space under the salary cap for the Flames to re-sign left wing Alex Tanguay to a five-year, $17.5 million contract.